2.5 - I will start this review by saying that the main reason for this rating is personal choice. Although Sophie Gonzales had probably the right ideas for this book, I personally was unsatisfied with the story.

*Spoiler-ish review ahead*
Never Ever Getting Back Together is supposed to be a fun, entertaining read, but I found it frustrating and very rage-inducing. This is most likely because of the fact that I was very thirsty for revenge against Jordy, which is the reason I stuck through the entire book despite being turned off by the way the reality show progressed. I didn't like how the women in the book were so quick to tear each other down; I know that it was meant to be a realistic view of manipulation and gaslighting, but the miscommunication between the characters at the start of the book made me want to pull my hair out. I wish the relationships between all the girls was written a little different, but alas, I tolerated it, just as I did the infuriating behaviour of both main characters at some points -all for the revenge plot. That was the only thing I was looking forward to; call me petty, but I wanted Jordy crushed! Which is exactly why all the little things that turned me off amounted to a huge disappointment when the more 'mature' approach was taken. Yes, it was cute, and yes, it was probably a good decision, but my hatred for Jordy, and all men like him, wanted to see him destroyed in every way possible. This is entirely a personal preference, just me being tired of having to be the bigger person and now craving vengeance on men like Jordy - which is why you may enjoy it whereas I didn't.
Overall, I appreciate the idea behind the plot and wanting to make it entertaining, and different, just a little disappointed with the execution.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group for this ARC.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is the perfect book for fans of The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, just YA and sapphic.

-Dual POV
-Sapphic
-Enemies to lovers
-Young Adult
-RomCom
-Forced Proximity

Maya is invited onto a reality tv dating show to get a ‘second chance’ at dating her ex, Jordy. She decides to go once she realises she can get back at him for cheating on her.

Jordy is basically a POS and deserves nothing more than to be humiliated on TV. Oh, and his sister married a prince, so he’s even more full of himself now, than when he was dating all of these girls.

Skye is another one of Jordy’s ex girlfriends and is actually interested in the whole idea of potentially seeing Jordy again. She’s in the middle of backpacking around the world, why not sleep in a mansion for 6 weeks? Unbeknownst to Skye, she's the one Jordy cheated on Maya with.

Jordy sets the girls up against each other by telling Skye that Maya is manipulative and is spreading lies about their messy breakup, so it takes ⅓ of the book before we get some good bonding time between Skye and Maya. While you would expect bitching between women in this situation I was a little let down by how much there was between all 6 contestants. I get that they’re all 18-20 year olds and put in such a high stress environment, but I was hoping they’d see Jordy’s red flags sooner.

While I do complain about how long it takes Maya and Skye to stop hating each other, it does add to the enemies to lovers trope. Also good if you enjoy forced proximity because they’re roommates. It was very satisfying to watch their relationship change over time and I appreciated their scheming to take Jordy down together. It was also really nice to see the book portray how slimy reality TV can be behind the scenes.

I felt like this book would have been better if it were intended for an older audience and everyone were aged up a bit. It felt a bit weird that Jordy has at least 6 ex girlfriends and they’re all around 18-20. Maybe this is why publishing companies need to get on beard with New Adult content and market it as such?

Wonderful cast of characters with lots of personalities to fall in love with.

Thank you NetGalley, Hachette Children’ Group, and Hodder Children's Books for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is an incredibly fun slice of escapism and empowerment. Gonzales has another smash-hit on her hands.

We all secretly love a bit of reality TV – the drama, the dynamics and the characters we take from it. It is so over the top and ridiculous, yet you get incredibly invested quickly. Gonzales has that same ability to completely hook you in instantly. It took very little for me to utterly fall in love with the fantastic characters of Maya and Skye. They’re both determined, strong-willed young women going into this competition with their own motivations and watching them pursue those is fascinating. Their facades slowly crumble, revealing the vulnerable and brilliant people trying to find their way. Watching them find themselves and their truths in this incredibly toxic and pressurising environment genuinely brought a glow to my heart. Of course, their dialogue and chemistry is also firecracker worthy. Their dynamic is just *chef’s kiss*. That slow-burn build from enemies to friends to potentially something more is delicious.

This book also really delves into toxic relationships. The gaslighting, emotional manipulation and lying is incredulous and really gets under your skin. Jordy is an absolutely vile human being and watching the construction of his downfall is immensely satisfying. Gonzales highlights the way that manipulation starts to break down your psyche and emphasising several of the red flags in the various relationships. Also, I liked how she also exposed the salacious manipulation of reality TV. Every moment is intricately framed to create maximum buzz and the way people are shoehorned into character types for better storylines is unnerving. So, when the narrative is flipped on its head, there is a really heart-warming moment of the reclamation of your own narrative.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a stunning, sapphic and scandalous YA contemporary. It is perfect for bingeing through the night - just like a good reality TV series.

When I tell you I was excited to hear about this book, I mean I SQUEALED when I found out about it. Quite loudly, actually. Which was unfortunate for the other people in my house. With the Taylor Swift reference in its title, and its gorgeous front cover and LGBT characters, I thought I wouldn't find anything to dislike in the novel. I am very pleased to confirm I was right!

Sophie Gonzales, who I was already familiar with thanks to hearing many good things about 'Only Mostly Devastated', writes brilliantly, and in a way that makes the book almost impossible to put down. I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions - particularly during Maya's drunk scenes - and was desperate to know how the book ended. (I was very happy with its ending too, which is always a bonus!)

Onto the actual storyline, however: Maya and Skye are the two narrators of the tale, and they describe their own experiences on a reality TV show in which they compete to re-date an old ex of theirs, alongside several of his other ex-girlfriends. It's an enemies to lovers story, which is a trope I've always adored, with plenty of friendship, drama and feminism thrown in too. Other characters include the unexpectedly lovable members of the TV crew, as well as the infamous ex, Jordy, who I took great delight in hating more and more as the story progressed. I think Sophie Gonzales did a brilliant job of making each character unique and intriguing, even when they were occasionally described as the exact kind of people I'd hate in real life.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys light-hearted, enjoyable YA stories with romance plots and positive female friendships. I utterly adored it and wouldn't have changed a thing about it, except maybe have made it longer simply because I wanted more!

Okay so I was interested in this book initially for the title and I love a good sapphic modern romance but what I did not expect was to love this so much!

This may be the best sapphic modern romance book I have ever read and maybe the best romance I have read all year. I loved both of the main characters and their romance was so compelling I started and finished this in a single day. The way this book made every one its female characters multi-dimensional and gave them each character growth was wonderful.

The romance was handled so well with two excellent bisexual MCs and I can't wait to see what the author puts out next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group, Hodder Children's Books for this eARC.

Everytime I read this title I start singing the Taylor Swift song which is no bad thing but also this was such a fun read! It was right down my street!

NEGBT is based around a TV reality dating show (which is basically the Bachelor crossed with The One That Got Away - yes I'm that person 😜) where Jordy is the eligible bachelor owing to the fact he's kinda famous but unfortunately he's also kind of a prick. In this show the potential women he can date are all exes. Two of the exes are Skye and Maya who are the dual protagonists. Long story short... Jordy was dating Maya and cheated on her with Skye and so the madness ensues.

Confession from me - I love watching trash reality dating TV shows, not because I buy into the romantic notion, but because I love the drama and honestly some of the behaviour and the mindsets of these people just needs to be seen to be believed. So yahhh... As someone who loves the trash drama I was immediately drawn to this book...

And it did not disappoint! I loved all of the scheming and revenge plotting and I actually couldn't quite guess what would happen with certain aspects of the plot which is quite rare for a contemporary romance.

Skye is instantly likeable whereas Maya takes a bit of warming upto! The ensemble really makes this what it is - shout-out to Isaac and Perrie who are friends everyone needs!

Where it falls down somewhat is there could have been a bit more character development of the two protagonists as I think that would've helped me buy into the love element earlier but I loved the premise of the book so much that I just put that to one side to be honest.

This is not a book that everyone will love but if it is up your street you'll enjoy the scheming, the sisterhood and the laughs!

Fun and cheesy, if you love reality shows I think you'll really love this one. There's some drama that feels very suited to this reality show aspect of the book, and it just makes for a fun and lighthearted read.

It's a revenge book, about these ex-girlfriends going on this Bachelor-style reality show to get revenge on their horrible ex-boyfriend, but with a surprise along the way of two of the girls - our main characters, Skye and Maya - realising that there may be something between them after all. There's a bit of an enemies-to-lovers vibe going on, so if that's your thing, I think you'll really enjoy this!

I do think this book might have worked better if it was New Adult, as having these 18-20 year olds on this second chance romance reality show felt pretty unrealistic - why does this guy have so many exes at his age, and considering he's had so many when he's only like 20, why are they all going on this reality show with him when the breakups would be pretty fresh for most of them? Whenever we were reminded of the characters' ages, it took me out of the story so I think if the characters were aged up a bit, it would work better. I also felt like at the beginning of the book, Skye and Maya's perspectives felt very very similar and it took a while for me to be able to distinguish whose perspective I was reading from.

Overall though, if reality shows are your thing and you love an easy, cheesy, fun book, I would definitely recommend picking this up!

What are the chances that out of eight semi-random people, two of them will be bi? I'm genuinely asking. I don't know. But this book wouldn't have worked without it. (For me, personally, it doesn't much work with it, but that's a taste thing.)

The premise is clever. Sophie has created an absolutely slimy bad guy in Jordy. The descriptions of the beautiful countryside are gorgeous, and the insight in what really happens on 'reality' shows is very good. I just...didn't connect with the story, or with Skye and Maya, and maybe that's me instead of the book; it's getting rave reviews everywhere, so it probably is me, let's be honest.

If you like romances, scenes straight out of a Hallmark film and revenge on a truly deserving character, this is the book for you. I'm sorry I didn't enjoy it more than I did, but I'm sure you will.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. I am by no means a fan of reality TV, but reality TV depicted in a book? Yes please.

This was full of drama from all the characters, who were so fleshed out it was easy to single out each character by their personalities. Jordy was so well written that I absolutely loved to hate him (I mean, he is despicable, right?)

I enjoyed the dual POV from Maya and Skye as it gave us ample insight into both their experiences and how the relationship blossomed on both sides. It was definitely a slow burn romance that pays off at the end.

Overall I really enjoyed this. It was a fun and quick read with an interesting premise, great characters, and a great setting.

If you love reality tv drama this book is for you!!! I read it in one sitting because it is sooooo enjoyable!!!! I will totally recommend this book!

I really enjoyed the latest Sophie Gonzalez, it was one of my favourites yet. The whole premise of being on a reality show with the drama it causes is really entertaining while also having characters who grow throughout the book and you really root for. I couldn’t put it down.

this was hands down one of the best books i’ve read all year. it was phenomenal and some of Sophie Gonzales’ best work.
not only were the characters so intricately presented, all with vibrant personalities, but the plot was equally as strong. it was cleverly written with humour and emotion. the concept was incredibly well done and it was pulled off 100%.
the romance was a selling point for me and it was one that we could really root for and it make the read so incredibly compelling and enjoyable.
there was emotion and warmth in never ever getting back together, and the trajectory of the book really makes you wish for justice and to see karma carried out at the end. it’s a credit to gonzales’ work that it was so emotive and enjoyable at the same time
this is a really really strong book and i cannot recommend it enough, it had me throwing my kindle down in frustration and anger, while also feeling immense happiness all throughout it.
i was honestly blown away with this book, i really love sophie gonzales’ work but this was probably her strongest yet. a for sure and easy 5/5 read and without a doubt a go to recommendation for so many reasons!!
thank you for the arc wednesday books and netgalley, i adored experiencing the joy of this book!

Ugh I love Sophie Gonzales. As soon as I was approved for this book I had to start reading immediately. This book was such a fun concept.

Picture a bachelor style programme with all the competing girls having a romantic history with the bachelor already. Obviously there will be drama. Especially when one of the bachelor's exes was totally screwed over by said bachelor and is now setting out a plan for revenge.

I knew I was going to dislike Jordy but I didn't realise it would happen quite so quickly, the man is trash. I did however adore the dialogue in this book, it had me giggling to myself the whole time. Maya was my absolute favourite and I found it hard to like Skye as much (but I did still like her a lot!)

Dear Susie Dent,
Is there a word in the dictionary to describe ‘this book made me simultaneously love-sigh and swoon so hard that I got vertigo?’
Eagerly awaiting your response from Dictionary Corner
Thanks,
Erin

Seriously though, we all know that these reality dating shows are fabricated hogwash buuuut when the narrative gets flipped and the contestants begin to fall for each other, it makes for great…well…drama. Not the let’s make Maya do and say crazy shit for ratings drama, I mean the dramatic kind of drama. Grand gestures and declarations, and OH MY GOD WILL SOMEONE JUST COME OUT AND SAY WHATS ON THEIR MIND????
You know, that kind of drama.
*ahem*
Did I mention the swooning??

The only other book I’ve read of this kind is The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochburn and while that book is a great read, I felt more connected to the story in Never Ever Getting Back Together. Perhaps it’s because both the characters are contestants, instead of the producer/bachelor dynamic, or perhaps it’s the first person POV, or maybe it’s the inescapable build up of tension in the revenge plot.

Whatever it was, I loved it. And this being the second Sophie Gonzales I’ve loved, she’s fast becoming an automatic add to the reading list.

Thank you to Sophie Gonzales, Hachette Children’s Group, and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc!

is there anything better than a group of beautiful girls teaming up to take down a scummy man

i really enjoyed this! super quick, easy and fun read that takes all the best parts of reality dating programmes and condensed them into a lovely sapphic love story. i thought that in the context of the show, maya and skye’s relationship developed pretty naturally, and i liked how they communicated very healthily throughout (once they had gotten over their mutual animosity at the start).

also, they were VERY easy to root for given jordy was like, disney cartoon levels of villainy. INSTANTLY dislikeable and very easy to see through his major red flags as an outsider (on the theme of taylor swift songs, “it’s me hi i’m the problem it’s me” is about him) but i thought it was fun to see our main girls plot to take him down, and i really enjoyed them as well as PERRIE 🫶🏻 who was the best secondary character for sure.

would definitely recommend picking this up on release if you enjoyed similar books - sort of ‘the charm offensive’ vibes (ok, mostly because of the reality tv angle - but still!

In an attempt to get revenge on her ex-boyfriend, Maya agrees to participate in a reality show where she and five other girls re-date their ex to try and win him back.

Never Ever Getting Back Together was a sweet and quick read. I really liked the two main characters, Maya and Skye, and watching their relationship bloom was exciting.

However, I found it kind of boring which was disappointing because I love a revenge story. Most of the plot was predictable and whilst it was easy to distinguish between Maya and Skye, the other girls on the show blurred into one most of the time (although I did love how ride-or-die Perrie and Isaac were).

Maya agrees to participate in a reality show where she, and five other girls, will have to re-date her ex-boyfriend and attempt to win him back. However, winning Jordy back isn’t what Maya is actually there for. She is there for REVENGE.

I have LOVED Sophie Gonzales’ previous four books. ‘Only Mostly Devastated’, ‘Perfect On Paper’ and ‘If This Gets Out’ are my go-to recommendations for Teens/Young Adults as they have spunky, witty characters with great chemistry, an engaging storyline, and have the feel-good factor. When I heard the premise for ‘Never Ever Getting Back Together’ I was very excited. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with this story or the characters. I felt that Maya’s attempt to win Jordy back was half-hearted, even before she was distracted by her room-mate, Skye. I didn’t understand why Maya and Skye fancied each other. I didn’t pick up on any chemistry between them, and wasn’t particularly drawn to either of them as individual characters either.

I also agree with other reviewers about the age of the reality show participants, and how it would be more believable if they were 5-10 years older.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the ARC!
I can’t believe I didn’t vibe with an enemies to lovers story. my main problem was certainly with the inconsistent characterisations and motivations of especially one of the main characters (if you want to get back at your ex that bad then try harder to make him fall for you and get to the end of the show!!!)

This book was amazing. It was intriguing. It completely captured my attention and I didn’t want to put it down! It perfectly presented the nature of reality TV shows, especially the truth of what happens behind the scenes. The build up in relationships between the characters happened at the perfect pace, and felt very realistic and believable. The bi representation was also immaculately written and perfectly presented! I really enjoyed this one!

Never Ever Getting Back Together was a story that I really didn't know what to expect from...but it was so much more fun than I could have hoped for.
We are given the premise of a reality TV show (think Love Island meets The Selection) all about second chances. Even though it was two years ago, Maya still remembers how upset she was when her boyfriend of the time cheated on her. He maintains he did nothing wrong, and now he is in the public eye he is firmly in control of the narrative of their break-up. When he rings Maya and asks her to take part in this show - where he spends time in a remote location with a number of exes as he tries to work out which one he would like a second chance with - Maya, quite rightly in my view, is stunned at his audacity. However, then she takes it upon herself to see this as an opportunity to set the record straight and get her revenge.
What Maya didn't bank on was the involvement of the other girl involved in her particular triangle, Skye. The two girls do not get off on the right foot, and while it is clear that drama between the two girls was being banked on for ratings what comes next is even more entertaining.
Over the course of their attempts to sabotage Jordy's show, Skye and Maya end up realising they have a lot more in common than they first thought. Their relationship was far more engaging than the fake ones put in place for the show, and I could not wait to see exactly how things panned out. This was a relationship that it was hard not to root for.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication.